The Maze
by Pan06
Summary: The third task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to get underway and Harry is ready for anything. He'll need to be.


This is supposed to be a part of a larger story, that I am trying to write but keep getting stuck on. I have a bunch of scenes that I'm pretty proud of, and concepts that I'd really like to be able to put into words. It's just stringing them together in a coherent story that's giving me trouble.

I think the only thing you need to know that's different for this story, is that Luna has been helping him prepare for the task of the tournament and that Harry's in the lead, just slightly ahead of Cedric. That just means he goes into the maze alone.

* * *

Harry was used to standing on the edge of the quidditch pitch listening to the cheering crowds but this time it was a little different. This time he didn't have his team at his back and there was a lot more than the quidditch cup at stake. The sky was a deep clear blue and the first stars were beginning to show. He could hear Krum, Cedric, and Fleur shifting next to him. Cedric was muttering under his breath and Fleur was nervously spinning her wand. If Krum had a nervous tick, Harry couldn't tell.

This was the final task of the Triwizard Tournament. This was what they had been working all year towards. A twenty-foot tall hedge surrounded the pitch. There was a gap right in front of them, the entrance to a pitch wide maze. The Triwizard cup lay somewhere in that maze and all they had to do was find it. Sounded easy. Right.

Bagman was addressing the crowd of spectators but Harry paid him no attention. He patted his pocket where he had put the map. Two nights ago, he had snuck up on his broom and had mapped the maze from above. Provided he didn't get lost, that should give him an edge. Moody, McGonagall, Hagrid and Flitwick left to patrol the edges of the maze, but they would be on their own inside, with only their wands and smarts to help them. Hermione and Luna had done all they could to prepare him, but once again he would be facing the challenge on his own.

The whistle sounded that was the signal for him to enter the maze and he was off. The minute he stepped through the entrance way the hedges moved to close the gap behind him. The sounds of the cheering crowd abruptly cut off and only the rustling of the hedge leaves reached his ears. "Lumos sphera." The magical light left the tip of his wand to hover overhead. There was no going back now. He followed the path ahead of him for fifty yards before it opened out into a junction of five passages. Before he could choose which way to head next the openings started spinning. They spun faster and faster until he had to close his eyes to keep from getting dizzy. When he opened them again he had no idea which path he had come from let alone which path he needed to take next. "Damn it." Right out of the gate, his map was useless.

But he wasn't stuck. He held his wand out in front of him, in the palm of his hand and cast the pathfinder spell Luna had found. "Iter illud." His wand spun in his hand and pointed off to the fourth path on his right, a beam of light shooting out down the path and around the corner.

Harry took off at a quick pace but he didn't want to go too fast. They had been warned the challenges would come upon them unexpectedly. He followed the light from his wand as it took him right, miss one, left miss three and left again. So far the path seemed deserted. He sped up.

Suddenly he turned at the next corner indicated by his wand and almost ran smack into a hedge wall. His spell had led him to a dead end. "What…?" That spell was supposed to show the correct path. He went to turn back the way he came but just as he got to the corner, the maze shifted again and the path became blocked. It was forward or stay where he was. "Iter illud." The path light still pointed toward the closed hedge. Harry looked closer at the wall, trying to see if there was some trick to it. As he got closer though, he noticed his lumos ball pass through some of the upper leaves. He gasped. Could it really be that simple? He put out his hand and pushed. His hand disappeared into the hedge, meeting no resistance at all. The hedge wasn't there. He stepped through and continued on. He would trust the pathfinder.

He realized he had come on the next challenge with the packed dirt under his feet gave way to a tiled floor. He barely managed to jump back in time to keep from falling through the hole that appeared as one of the tiles fell out from under him. Even though he knew the pitch was literally on the ground level, the actual cavern beneath the tiles was certainly convincing. Falling would certainly mean his disqualification, if not actual death. Unfortunately, his pathfinder spell wasn't specific enough to direct him safely across. He takes a tentative step onto another tile and then had to dive out of the way of a huge blast of fire that shot from the walls, scorching the leaves of the other side. He didn't want to risk taking another guess.

Kneeling down he took a closer look at the tiles themselves. They had to be the trigger. He noticed the tile he stepped on has the ancient rune kena on it. He checked out the others. The runes for kena for fire, isa for ice, hagalaz for hail, laguz for water and jera for earth covered most of the pieces, but some, here and there, had raidho on them. Passage. He took a chance and stepped forward on the nearest raidho tile. Nothing. He looked for the next one and jumped. From one raidho tile to the next he made his way down the path until he got to the last bit but then he was stuck. There were no more safe tiles. He looked at the distance to safe ground.

"Damn it, there's no way I can make that." Then he spotted one tile. It was the smallest of the remaining tiles but if he could get there he could easily step off to end. Trouble was the tiles was blank. Nothing left to do. He held his breath and stepped. The tile held. He blew out his breath and jumped off. A dirt floor had never felt so inviting.

"Iter illud." He recast the pathfinder and followed it around the corner. It led him passed several openings and up a long passage. He was just wondering how a maze this big could have fit in the quidditch pitch when he stepped out of an opening into a large open area. A gigantic occamy filled the space. It was at least fifteen feet high, with a wing span at least that long. It wasn't facing him at the moment, which he could only be thankful for. They were known to be extremely aggressive and at the size it currently was he would make an appetizing meal for it.

The light of his spell led to a passage to the right of the space, so Harry tried to inch his way around the walls, hoping it wouldn't notice him. But he didn't get more than a couple of steps before the turquoise scales shifted. One of the huge purple wings lifted out of the way and he realized he was face to face with a giant snake. Harry met the shining purple eyes of the snake-like creature. "Err, hi." What could it hurt?

The beast's head lifted at his words, but it didn't reply. Harry had no idea if it could understand him but figured it was worth a shot. "My name's Harry." He spoke low and hopefully soothingly. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I just need to get to that opening over there." He indicated the passage. "I'm just going to make my way slowly around you." The occamy didn't move, it just watched him. Step by step, Harry moved slowly to the right, keeping an eye on the beast the whole time. When he finally reached the gap in the hedge maze, he turned back to the occamy one last time and after a pause, he bowed. "Thanks."

The occamy never replied, but it did nod its head back to him before lowing it beneath its wing again. Harry darted through the passage.

Harry was following the pathfinders light down another corridor when he noticed mist drifting around his ankles. He wasn't sure if this was a part of another challenge or simply a normal part of the early spring weather. He treaded carefully but nothing came of it. Except, just as he realized he could no longer see his feet he felt something curl around his ankle and yank. He was pulled off his feet with a yelp, making him drop his wand. He grabbed at the bindings on his feet but had to pull back in a hurry to keep his hands from getting bound up with them. He got lucky though, as his movements helped blow back some of the fog that was hiding the bonds from view and he was able to recognize them. He let out a laugh. "Lumos solem!" A powerful beam of light radiated out from his wand, dropped a few inches from hand. The devils snare shrunk from the light and let him go. Harry grabbed his wand and darted down the next corridor.

Harry realized he was quite enjoying himself with these challenges. Without the primordial terror of facing a dragon, or the low key fear of having to rescue his friends, these challenges were actually fun. He was forced to think and use his magic in new and creative ways. So he felt pretty confident as he moved down the next corridor. The mist is getting thicker around him and he shivered a bit. He paused for a second. Something was wrong here. But he couldn't think what. He swayed slightly on his feet. Huh, he must have been getting tired. He wondered what time it was anyway. Late, he thought, he could see the stars bright overhead.

Harry shook his head to try and clear it. With a jolt, he realized what was wrong. "Caelirespirare!" He cast the bubble head charm on himself and took a deep breath. There was a faint after taste on his tongue, that he recognized from his countless visits to the hospital wing. Someone had managed to aerosolize the sleeping potion and he had been breathing it in. Tricky. He almost wanted to give Snape credit for that one.

The mist continued to thicken around him until he could only see the light of his spell go a few feet in before it disappeared into the gloom in front of him. He was forced to slow to a careful walk. Just as he turned the next corner he was blown clear off his feet, landing in the hedge wall behind him. He rolled along the wall until he moved out of the path of the wind. The wind had blown away the drugged fog at least but there was no way he was going to be able to walk up that passage. Anytime he stepped out into the corridor the gale force winds picked up and blew him back. But that was where he needed to go. The pathfinder spell didn't just find a path, it sought out the best path. He needed to get up that passage.

Well, he steeled himself, there was nothing else to do. He gripped his wand tighter. First, he transfigured his shoes to shoot spikes into the ground when he stepped. This should help keep him on his feet. Then he conjured his most powerful shield charm and pushed all his strength into it. Each step was like pushing a huge boulder uphill. As he moved up the passage, it wasn't just the wind but rain too, thunder slammed overhead. Lightning struck the tops of the hedges and hail pelted down on him, causing great echoing bangs they hit the shield. This particular charm wasn't intended to keep the weather out but it was the best he had so he just ducked his head and pushed onward. He kept low to the ground hoping the worst would pass overhead.

Harry wasn't sure how long it took, but he was sweating with exertion when he finally pushed passed the weather tunnel. He fell flat on his face with the release of the pressure against his shield and he dropped it in relief. Harry just lay panting on the ground for a minute. He wasn't sure how much of this he could take.

Harry just took a deep breath and stood up. He'd made it this far. "Iter illud." The light of the spell showed him the way ahead. Left, left, miss three, then right. Then, nothing. A dead end. Harry looked around, there had to be a trick here somewhere. He tried the wall ahead of him, but this time it was solid hedge.

He flicked his wand and the lumos light overhead brightened. Harry considered the area. Then he noticed several small white stones on the floor beneath him. He tried picking one up but realized they were stuck to the ground. He stood back and studied them. Something about the niggled at his brain. They looked almost familiar. Then it hit him. He gave another flick of his wand. "Nox." Darkness fell around him. The blackness was almost total until his eyes adjusted but when they did he noticed the white stones were glowing.

Harry smiled. The stones were laid out in constellations, mirroring the night sky above. The only one out of place was… "The North Star." Harry reached for the spare stone and moved it into position. The stones glow brightened for a minute, then the hedge wall moved retreated into the sides of the maze. Harry relit his lumos light and moved on. But he didn't travel far.

Directly on the other side of the now open wall was the thing he was searching for. The Triwizard cup stood gleaming on a plinth less than a dozen steps away. Harry stepped into the area, carefully scanning his surroundings for another challenge. But nothing happened. Slowly he walked toward it until he stood right at the pedestal. He wondered if it could really be this easy, right at the final step. But he hadn't come this far to chicken out now.

He grabbed the cup from the stand. Instantly, Harry felt the familiar jerk on his navel and his feet left the ground. He tried to release his grip but it was too late. It was pulling him onward, in a howl of wind and swirling color.

* * *

You know the rest. Or do you?

Let me know what you think. Is it worth expanding on?


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